By RFPosted on 22-11-2018Modified on 22-11-2018 at 22:47

Zimbabwe's finance minister on Thursday (November 22nd) presented his budget for 2019. A much-anticipated budget because President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who succeeded Robert Mugabe a year ago, promised to revive an economy on his knees.

The $ 6.6 billion 2019 budget is entitled "Austerity will lead us to prosperity. Among the key measures announced by Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube, a 5% decrease in the salary of senior officials, ministers and head of state included.

The salary of civil servants absorbs nearly 90% of the income of the State. A real gulf while the number of employees of the state is estimated at 250 000. The Minister of Finance has also announced the biometric registration of these officials to hunt ghost employees.

→ RELIRE: A year after Robert Mugabe's departure, where is Zimbabwe?

Another noteworthy feature of this budget is the allocation of $ 53 million in compensation for white farmers who were expelled from their land as part of Robert Mugabe's controversial land reform. A measure designed to restore agriculture that has literally collapsed since.

Will these measures be enough to revive a hard-pressed economy ? The new president is "pro-business" and says the door is open to investors. But so far, some economists note, it has undertaken almost none of the reforms that would bring these investments back.

Clashes in the hemicycle

Emmerson Mnangagwa succeeded in November 2017 to Robert Mugabe, after 37 reign. He has pledged to revive the Zimbabwean economy, but inflation is at its highest and the country has recently returned to shortages of commodities.

The presentation of this budget Thursday was rough. Opposition parliamentarians, who still dispute the election of President Mnangagwa as tainted by fraud, refused to rise when the head of state arrived in the Chamber. The Speaker of Parliament called for their expulsion, which led to clashes between police and parliamentarians who came to blows.

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